Far From Home
by kratos's appreintice
Summary: A self insert started to escape a family gathering. What was meant to be harmless fun in Virginia turns into a terrible 'wrong place, wrong time' case. Upon waking, they find stones in their hands and themselves in the jail of evil beings called Desians


**Definitely wasn't planning on starting one of these yet, but twin and I did it to escape her family gathering. All I have to say is please don't take any of the potentially racist stuff personally. Remember, we were at a family gathering right before this. Both twin and I typed this.**

**DISCLAIMER: We do not own Tales of Symphonia.**

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"I blame you for this." Jessica said. Cassie looked at her, scowling.

"It was your idea, you idiot." Cassie had got a job and saved up for a few months so they could take a bus to vacation in Virginia, and Jessica wanted to do illegal things like J-walking and littering, which Cassie was against, as far as the littering went.

The officer looked at them, contemplating what to do as he twirled his mustache. He finally grabbed his ticket book from his pocket, along with a pen. It was then a large black man ran past them. The officer's partner ran after him, tackling him to the ground. They watched as the police man frisked the guy, coming up with a bag of Mary Jane.

The officer by Cassie and Jessica looked at them and lifted an eyebrow. Cassie reflexively stepped back, hands up. "Hey, that's got nothing to do with us dude." She said. Officer Parker, according to his name tag, reached out, grabbing her wrist and spinning her around, pinning it behind her back as he patted her pockets. Finding nothing, he took her purse, unzipping it.

He pulled out her keys, the many key chains clanging together. A long black one caught his attention. He examined it closer before pulling off the cap, revealing a sharp spike nearly an inch long.

Jessica laughed a little. The look of horror on her friend's face was priceless. She turned her head towards the sound of a man cussing and caught sight of the black man's dirty brown jacket as he was pushed into the cop car. The other officer slammed the door shut and scowled at her, crossing his arms.

That smile died on her face she inched toward Cassie. "Exactly how bad is this?" She asked her friend in what she thought was a whisper.

"Very bad." The officer answered instead. He took the keychain off the ring and tossed it at his partner. "It doesn't matter how small it is: a concealed weapon is illegal. Unless, of course, you have a license for it." And Cassie did not. She didn't even have a permit to drive a car.

She resorted to the response she had thought up before ordering the key chain. "Well Officer, you don't expect two defenseless little girls to go around a city without some way to defend ourselves from people like that." She gestured towards the druggie in the cop car.

"But Cassie, isn't that why you took karate those ten years?" Jessica quirped up.

Cassie kicked her leg, tossing her a dirty look over her shoulder. "Shut up. Not helping." She hissed.

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So there they sat, in a comfy little prison cell, all alone. Except it wasn't comfy, and they weren't alone. They were huddled together on the far end of the top bunk, as far away from their burly cell mate as they could get. "A good friend will bail you out of jail. A true friend will be right in there with you saying 'Damn, we fucked up.'" Cassie muttered, just for old time sake.

Jessica hugged her knees and inched away from the younger teenager. "I didn't even do anything wrong." She said under her breath. That didn't make any difference though. No one was listening. "I can't believe you, you douchebag."

"You're eighteen, aergo, the one in charge. And an accomplice. Maybe you shouldn't have let me do something illegal, douche bag. Maybe you shouldn't have _wanted _to do something illegal." Cassie responded.

"I wanted to go J-walking jackass. I didn't even know you were carryi-"

"Shut your freaking mouths!" The big woman shouted from across the cell.

And they did. They huddled in fear until they were tired, then laid down, back to back, and went to sleep. When Cassie woke up, the first thing she noticed was the absence of their large cell mate.

The second was that their cell looked completely different, high-tech, almost. Their bed no longer had a mattress, or a bottom bunk. It was just a cold hard metal slab sticking out of the wall. The walls were made of the same metal, or maybe it was stone? Instead of bars, the door was a glass slab.

Cassie brushed her hair out of her face, stiffening as something hot scalded her forehead. She looked at the back of her hand, eyes widening at the site of the green stone that seemed to be embedded in her skin. But that was ridiculous, impossible. Wouldn't it hurt, and be bloody even, if a rock had gone through your skin?

"Jessica, wake up. Wake up douche bag." Cassie said as she rolled over and shook her friend.

"What is it? Did your mom come to bail us out?" Jessica asked. She yawned and sat up then, pushing brown hair from her eyes. She starred at the door, the walls and finally her friend's confused expression. "Oh." Jessica leaned over and tapped the green gem on Cassie's hand. "That's cool. Where'd you get it?"

"Ha, my mom come all the way to Virginia? We didn't even get our one phone call. And hell if I know. And cool? It's in my freaking skin!" As she spoke, she prodded the stone, checking for any signs of pain.

"Whatever." Jessica grumbled. Her eyes widened as she touched the purple stone on the back of her hand. It was cold and hard like marble, mirroring Cassie's in shape and size. "Hey, maybe this means we're Big Bertha's now."

"What!" Cassie sputtered. If she had been drinking something, she would have done a spit take. "I doubt that, 'cause I mean, Dorothy, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."

"Guess not." Jessica replied. She pressed the cold stone to her cheek as she starred at the door. "It doesn't have a doorknob or a handle, so how do we open-"

The door slid open then. In stepped a man, more exotic-looking than either girl had ever seen with aqua hair, strange clothes, and a weird cyborg-like arm. "Finally awake, inferior beings?"

"Whoa." Jessica said in awe.

The man dusted green hair from his good eye as his gaze flickered from one girl to the other. "They hardly look competent." He turned to the men in armor behind him. "I would think you would take far more care considering the importance of this experiment."

"B-but Lord Forcystus! Their mana levels are astronomical." The blue haired man, Forcystus, looked back at the girls, a new found curiosity coating his one blue eye.

A disturbing smile formed on Forcystus' lips. "You may have just saved your worthless lives. Now get out of my sight." The men were quick to obey orders, fumbling over themselves to get out the door.

Cassie took a deep breath to gather her thoughts. "Experiment? We were put in here for J-walking. Don't they do that to like, pedophiles and rapists?" She asked.

"Wait a second, what kind of experimentation? And it was for your concealed weapon, remember?" Jessica asked. Cassie elbowed her, afraid to speak and confirm the offense.

"I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. I doubt you will live long enough for it to make a difference." Forcystus stated.

"Whoa, I don't think J-walking is punishable by death. The state would get you if you killed us." Cassie responded.

He tossed his hair over his shoulder his gaze only lasting on her for a second. "Regardless, I'm done with you." He turned and walked out the door, first pausing in the doorway. "Take them out to the yard. Any damage to the experiments will be reciprocated by me personally."

Two women in reveling armor strode into the doorway. The women split; one of them grabbing Cassie by the arm, the other Jessica.

"Come on little girl." The one with blond hair sticking out from her helmet said. Cassie jerked away from her grip.

"Okay, I know we're in jail, but we're not stupid. We're not going to try and run or anything." Cassie told her. Other than resecuring her grip, Cassie was ignored. They were lead out of the large, strange looking building and into a yard full of people pushing blocks at least three or four times their weight.

More men in armor watched over them with whips in their hands, cracking it across the slaving workers backs whenever they showed any hint of slowing. Jessica and Cassie flinched at the sight while their escorts left them to talk to the men with whips.

It wasn't long before the female guards returned to them. "You two, you see that old hag over there? Go over and work in the garden with her." One of them ordered, gesturing towards the wall on the other side of the yard where an elderly woman worked with a garden hoe.

Eager to get away from the company of the harsh armored people, the girls all but ran towards the large garden. The woman looked up when they approached. She had a tall purple plant in her fist when she smiled up at them.

The woman didn't say anything though until the guards were far enough away not to eavesdrop. She dusted her hands off on her brown rags. "I could use some help digging up the radishes." She waved her hand towards a patch of green stalks standing out from the ground a foot away.

"Who were those guys?" Jessica asked she kneeled down beside the old woman. "And that Forcystus guy?"

"You don't know who the Desians are?" The old woman asked sounding shocked, pausing in mid-reach for one of the stalks. It was then that they noticed she also had a gem like theirs on the back of her hand, only hers was blue.

"I think I like yours better than mine." Jessica said, gesturing to the stone on her hand.

"I'm not sure if that's a compliment or not." She said after a long pause.

"Does yours feel hot?" Cassie asked.

"No, not particularly." The woman responded. Her blue eyes darkened as she narrowed them at Cassie. "No one's told you about them yet, have they? Where are you from, exactly?"

"London." Cassie told her.

"Hm. I've never heard of London." That wasn't an answer they were expecting. Normally, when they said London, most people thought they lived in London, England. But to have never have heard of it? That could only mean they weren't around home.

"Um, where are we, exactly?"

"This is the Iselia Human Ranch. The Desians bring humans here to work. Though it makes me wonder why they have you two young girls over here gardening. Normally the young and healthy are put the heavier work. By the way, my name's Marble."

"My name's Jessica, and this is Cassie." Apparently over the shock of Jessica and Cassie not knowing who the Desians were, Marble turned her attention towards the radishes, uprooting the vegetables. The girls joined her, feeling bad as they watched her shaky, knobby hands wrap around the green stalks.

"Where is Iselia anyway?" Cassie asked Marble.

"The neighboring city is called Triet, if that helps any." Marble informed them. Cassie glanced over at Jessica, the geography and history buff of the two.

"Um...I believe they're in South American." Jessica finally decided.

"Marble!" A new voice called.

Marble gasped and scrambled up to the big fence on their left. A short kid in blue and a taller teenage boy stood on the other side. "Genis." Marble called like he was a long lost friend. With the arrival of the boys, all thoughts of how the frig they could be in South America were driven from the girls' heads.

"Hey Marble." The short boy said while his fingers trembled at his side and his eyes darted from Cassie to Jessica. "You made some new friends?"

Before she could answer the brunette beside him spoke up. "Is that an Exsphere?" He asked.

"Oh, is that what these are called?" Marble responded.

"Exsphere?" That sounds like something from a video game." Cassie commented.

"Yeah, those are definitely Exspheres, but it doesn't look like they have a Key-Crest. Wait, video game? What's that?"

"Wait, you don't know what video games are?" Jessica asked, astounded.

"Lloyd, is that Key-Crest important?" Genis asked, cutting off any further discussion of video games.

"Kinda. If an Exsphere is attached directly to the skin, it supposedly makes you sick. Ironically, it's useless unless you apply it directly to the skin. So you make a Key-Crest to mount the Exsphere on so you don't get sick." Lloyd explained.

"You're very knowledgeable." Marble applauded. Genis snorted, making Jessica and Cassie smile.

"You can make a Key-Crest, right Lloyd?" Genis asked, sounding hopeful.

"Yeah, I can carve the charm, but there's nothing I can do without the Inhibitor ore that acts as the mount. Only a dwarf can process that."

"Your dad's a dwarf! Can't you ask him to make it?"

"You shouldn't make fun of the vertically challenged." Cassie scolded.

"Hey, what the hell's going on over there?" A man's voice yelled from the other side of the yard. Marble gasped, spinning around.

"Oh no! The Desians! You have to run! Get out of here!" She whispered.

"We can't just leave you though." Genis argued.

"I'll be fine! Just Go! And take these two with you. I don't know why, but Forcystus needs them. And they're too young to have to experience this."

The two boys looked from Marble to Jessica and Cassie for the first time in a while. Genis hesitated for a second then nodded. He glanced at the fence and reached toward it. A few inches from the bars a blue light sparked near his finger. The kid barely pulled away in time not to get seriously burned by the light.

Jessica put her hands over her nose to block out the smell. Cassie face squelched up and she mumbled something about burnt toast.

Genis' eyebrows drew together, yet he looked more determined than ever. "This is mana." He muttered, answering the question on everybody's lips. "But how…"

"Bust through it with your magic Genis." Lloyd said from behind him.

"Hurry!" Marble urged. Genis pulled a strange item from his backpack, gripping it firmly as his eyes focused on the thing in his hand before he started bouncing the ball off the top of it, his hair billowing about as if blown by the wind. A red rune circle appeared on the ground around him, and it wasn't long before he cried 'Fireball!'

A ball of flames appeared in front of the ball before sailing towards the fence. Sparks flew from the impact as the barrier became visible, melting away. "Go now! I'll distract them." Mable shouted. Jessica and Cassie stared at the young boy in wonder and disbelief.

"No way." Genis told Marble, his feet rooted to the ground.

"How did you just…" Jessica trailed, hesitant about moving any closer to the sparking whole in the barrier. Marble nudged the younger girls towards the fence, and they finally slipped between the wires as Lloyd grabbed Genis by the shoulder and pulled. Lloyd didn't wait for any protests as he led them away to the bushes.

"What the hell you doing over here?" The lead Desian asked as they reached Marble, who struggled not to look over to make sure the kids had gotten away, or at least out of sight.

"I…" She stuttered.

"I think someone's got an attitude problem." The second commented.

"No, of course not." She tried to assure them.

"Let's take her to the back and give her a lesson in respect." The third suggested. The three surrounded Marble, and she let them lead her off without protest, hanging her head low enough so that she could glance back without the Desians noticing.

Meanwhile, on the cliff above the Ranch, the kids watched in horror. "Lloyd, we have to do something!" Genis whispered.

"Yeah." The teen agreed. "Attack the Desians from here with magic. I'll be the decoy and lead them away from the village."

"But Lloyd!" Genis protested.

"Isn't that kinda stupid? They're like evil tyrants, right? And they have weapons." Cassie interjected.

"I'll be fine." Lloyd assured as he patted the hilt of his sword, drawing the girl's attention to it. "You two, go with Genis. We'll meet up at my Dad's house. Do it Genis." The small boy nodded before facing the Desians. It wasn't long before he had three fireballs sailing towards the Desians.

The Desians cried out as soon as the fireballs hit them. Lloyd shouted at them before they zeroed in on the backs of three escaping figures. The brunette insulted them with his back turned and grinned as they started chasing him instead of his friends.

Genis led Jessica and Cassie down a dirt path going south. It took seconds for the two girls to leave him in the dust. The absence of the kid didn't strike either of them as odd until they were presented with two alternate paths to run to.

As Jessica turned around to ask Genis, he tripped and face planted on the ground several feet back from then. The boy had just managed to lift himself when the Desians following Lloyd heard his cry of 'ow.' Jessica and Cassie ran back for him and picked him up from either side. They hid behind the bushes as the Desians ditched Lloyd to investigate.

Lloyd immediately spun around with a curse on his lips. He got the Desian's attention as he unsheathed his two wooden blades. "Demon Fang!" The brunette called as he swiped at the one closet to his friend. That's all it took for the soldier to fall on his side. The other Desian didn't fare much better, but he at least was able to singe Lloyd's sleeve with a fire ball before he was slashed over the chest.

Genis didn't waste any time. "Come on." He whispered as he led them back down the path to the base of the cliff. They followed wordlessly until they saw Lloyd jump off the rocky height. Cassie was the first to speak at the landing as they met up with Lloyd.

"How did you do that? You're _white_, for God's sake!" She yelled. Something wasn't right here.

"What? What's that mean?" The teen asked.

"Lloyd, I'm so sorry! They saw your face! It's all my fault!" Genis cried, completely ignoring Cassie's semi-racist comment.

"It's fine, don't worry about it. I took out the ones who saw my face and ran before the others could." Lloyd responded.

"But I still put you in danger!"

"It's fine. Just do my homework for me, okay?"

"Okay." Genis smiled.

"Lloyd, I have a question. Why did you volunteer to do that when your swords are made out of _wood?"_ Jessica inquired.

"Seriously. I mean, other than a bump and bruise, what damage will a boken do?" Cassie added.

"Hey, my Dad made these for me, alright?" The teen protested. "Besides, good metal swords aren't exactly cheap. Anyway, who are you? Why did grams ask us to take you two with us? "

"Oh, we never got around to our names, did we? I'm Cassie, and this is Jessica. I'm not sure why she had us go with you, but I think it has something to do with these thingies." She held out her hand to show the green gem on the back of it. "That, and we're not from here. Our home's a long way away."

"In America." Jessica put in.

"America? I've never heard of it. But anyway, aren't we running from the Desians? Shouldn't we get out of here?" Genis suggested.

"Yeah, you're right. Genis, you head back to the village. Jessica, Cassie, you two come with me to my Dad's house. I'll have him make Key Crests for your Exspheres."

"Alright." Cassie agreed with a nod before they parted ways with Genis. They climbed back up the hill towards the Ranch, running past the treacherous facility. As they reached the river, a giant set of pincers closed around Cassie's leg. She yelped as she fell to the ground.

"Holy crap…" Jessica muttered. Cassie pushed herself up to look over her shoulder as the thing around her ankle tugged. Her eyes widened as she let out a scream similar to a four year old's when she took in the sight of the giant spider biting onto her.

Another one scampered out of the bush, latching onto her other leg. "Oh my God! Get these things off me!" Cassie yelled.

"She's always had a fear of spiders." Jessica commented like her best friend wasn't in the clutches of creepy giant spiders. Lloyd already had his swords drawn, calculating on where to strike the spiders as a third crawled out of the brush.

"Damn, you guys aren't armed, are you? Just don't make any sudden moves. This will be a piece of cake." Lloyd said, lifting his blades in the air.

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**So yeah. Hope that wasn't too bad. If anyone would be willing to beta this, we'd appreciate it. Especially since Microsoft keeps taking out my corrections to twin's horrid grammar and taking out necessary words for sentences to make sense .. Please review, and flames are welcome. Also, twin is a jerk. She took out my dog T_T**


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